Showered in bright lights, the jumping crowd listens as the performer lays her heart bare for all to see. Music blasting, the crowd cannot hear themselves think. All they can do is feel the rhythm of the music as senior Gracie Ellis performs “Knock,” one of her original tracks.
“There’s nothing like performing your own music,” Ellis said.
During the Magnify the Muted benefit, Ellis performed songs from her recently released EP “Valid,” which is now out on Spotify and iTunes. She spent her entire summer writing and recording her own music for the album, which centers on Ellis’s life, Ellis said.
Junior Josh Eidam attended the Magnify the Muted benefit, where Ellis performed, Eidam said
“It was super cool to watch,” Eidam said. “[Ellis] was very good, and it was clear that she really cared about her music.”
Eidam said that it was so loud, he could barely hear himself.
“It was crazy,” Eidam said. “Everyone was having a blast.”
Ellis crafted her songs in a private studio with Billboard Magazine’s recording artist, Scott Matthews. Originally, she was just going to be an intern, helping Matthews with various recordings. Things, however, turned out differently, Ellis said.
“It ended up being that he [Matthews] wanted to record my music,” Ellis said. “He and a sound engineer were in the studio at all times, and I would play the drums, vocals, and guitar on all of the songs.”
Ellis said that she wants to share her story through her music.
“I’m gay, and I was always scared to share my music and to sing in front of other people,” Ellis said. “I hid these parts of myself for so long. This album is me releasing them and accepting them.”
Ellis said that her love for music and her sexuality are the main inspiration behind the name of the album.
“It’s like I’m saying all of these parts of myself are valid, that my feelings are valid, and that everything I went through is valid,” Ellis said.
Ellis has been public with her sexuality since Dec. of her sophomore year, but she said that the making of this album is almost like coming out again.
“Doing something so public like this with my sexuality will always feel like a big deal to me because it was definitely hard, dealing with not telling anyone for so much of my life,” Ellis said. “It’s almost like another outing, a feeling of freedom.”
Ellis said she has always loved music.
“I got into music super young because we grew up around Green Day here, so the first concert I ever went to was a Green Day concert,” Ellis said. “That’s where my love for rock and instrumental music came in. When I saw that show, I knew immediately that I wanted to learn how to play the drums.”
After the concert, Ellis learned how to play various instruments. Her first time performing live music was in seventh grade with her band, Borderline.
“We did a show at my house in my basement,” Ellis said. “It was so awful. At the time, I thought I was a rockstar.”
Senior Will Wolfe helped Ellis with the making of her EP, Wolfe said.
“I play guitar when we perform live as well as on her album,” Wolfe said.
Ellis and Wolfe have played a few gigs together, and plan do do more in the future. Wolfe said playing with Ellis live brings out the music’s energy.
“Playing with [Ellis], and TH [Williamson] was just a treat. Great times and high energy jamming with those people,” Wolfe said.
Ellis said that she did not begin to write her own music until freshman year.
“It was the first time I had really felt any sort of heart break,” Ellis said.
Ellis said she enjoyed the process of writing her own music as she created her own work of art, while also learning to play the guitar and bass.
“It was like my therapy,” Ellis said.
Ellis succeeded in completing her EP, which contains six songs. However, she’s not finished. Ellis said she has plans to make more music in the upcoming months.
“I plan on doing a lot of shows with my band and being super involved in the industry.” Ellis said. “We already have a lot of things planned and we’re super excited about playing music and hopefully making some more new music as a band.”
